Jim Sutherland on going from a successful studio to a one-man band

After 13 years at the helm of hat-trick, the designer decided to go it alone and set up Studio Sutherl&. Here, Sutherland talks about his design empire based out of his house in South London, and why change can only be a good thing

Judging by the breadth of Studio Sutherl&’s client list, you’d imagine that the agency would have a healthy-sized new business team and a decent number of designers to get their teeth stuck into new commissions. Despite having worked with the likes of the Natural History Museum, Agatha Christie Ltd and Royal Mail, the studio actually just consists of founder Jim Sutherland and one designer, both of whom work out of his house in Kennington, South London.

This streamlined set-up wasn’t always Sutherland’s choice of working lifestyle, however. In 2001 he founded design studio hat-trick with two friends, Gareth Howat and David Kimpton. Over the next 13 next years the studio would build up a solid client base including Royal Mail and Imperial War Museums, and establish itself as a reputable name in the design industry.